The School Leadership Survival Guide

What to Do When Things Go Wrong, How to Learn from Mistakes, and Why You Should Prepare for the Worst

Edited by:
Jeffrey S. Brooks, Curtin University
Amanda Heffernan, Monash University

A volume in the series: Leadership, Schools, and Change. Editor(s): Terri N. Watson, The City College of New York. Amanda Heffernan, Monash University. Jeffrey S. Brooks, Curtin University.

Published 2021

The School Leadership Survival Guide: What to Do When Things Go Wrong, How to Learn from Mistakes, and Why You Should Prepare for the Worst is intended as an uncommon guide for school leaders and a resource they can turn to when confronted with issues they might not normally face in typical practice. The book serves as a bridge between research and day-to-day school leadership, and is intended to help leaders and school communities improve in areas they routinely avoid. In this sense, the book is meant as a “go to” resource for principals, those who train and teach them, and scholars. Although authors recognize the complexity of issues raised in the book, each chapter has a “How to” “What to do” or “Why You Should” ethos in order to give the book a unifying structure and help provide a practical translation of research and theory into practice. Some of the issues addressed include: How to elevate student voice; How to navigate religious conflict in the school and community; How to improve support for LGBTIQ students; Why You Should develop a natural disaster plan; How to work against racism in the school and community; How to practice inclusion in the school; How to make a vision and mission come to life; How to manage relationships with difficult people; What to do when there is racial tension in the community; How to learn the history of your school and community—and why that matters; How to guide and support a leadership team, and; What to do in a school with low trust.

CONTENTS
Series Editors’ Preface, Terri N. Watson, Amanda Heffernan, and Jeffrey S. Brooks. Introduction, Jeffrey S. Brooks and Amanda Heffernan. SECTION I: RELATIONSHIPS. Secrets to a More Successful Partnership Between Students and Teachers, Dana Mitra. How School Leaders Can Respond to Bullying in Schools: Tools, Tips, and Tasks for Understanding Policy, Creating Interventions, and Adopting Data-Based Decisions, Azadeh Osanloo. How to Learn From Mistakes: The Value of Understanding a Student’s Cultural Wealth as a School Leader, Jason McKinney. SECTION II: LEADING IN A CHANGING WORLD. When Leaders Grow, They Grow Others: Overcoming Immunity to Change, Anthony H. Normore, Antonia Issa Lahera, and Julie K. Jhun. How to Exercise Moral Leadership in the Current Social and Political Climate, April L. Peters and Tiffany S. Aaron. Green School Leadership: The What, How, and Why, Tania McKey and Lisa A. W. Kensler. Glocalization: Issues and Strategies for School Leadership, Nicola Sum. Merging Schools and Communities: Engaging in Activist Leadership Beyond Your School Walls, Jason D. Salisbury, Meagan Richard, and Shelby Cosner. How to Value Social Media Use in Education, Naomi Barnes. How to Build a Positive Digital Footprint for Your School and for Your Students, Rachel Buchanan. SECTION III: SUPPORTING STUDENTS. Educational Leadership and the Challenge of Engaging Young People in Meaningful Learning, Martin Mills, Glenda McGregor, Stewart Riddle, and Angelique Howell. Beyond Order: How to Use Restorative Justice to Make School Meaningful and Manageable, Kristin Elaine Reimer. How to Support Students of Refugee Background in Your School, Jane Wilkinson and Mervi Kaukko. How to Create Safe and Supportive Schools for LGBTQ People, Warren J. Blumenfeld. Strategies for Educational Leaders Navigating Religious Conflict in the School and Community, Ransford Pinto and Dena Lane-Bonds. Why You Should Create a LGBTQ+ Inclusive Environment for Middle Schoolers and Their Families, Rosa L. Rivera-McCutchen and E. A. Rivera-McCutchen. How Multi-Tiered Systems Can Support Equity and Excellence, Joshua Bornstein. So You Want to Make a Special Education Referral: How to Foster Equity and Understanding Special Education Policy, Rhodesia McMillian. Understanding Fat Pedagogy for Inclusive Practice in International Service Learning and Adventure Travel, Sarah Rutherford. Islam and the Schoolhouse: How Principals Can Understand and Support Their Muslim Students, Teachers, and Families, Melanie C. Brooks. How to Make a School Less White, Melitta Hogarth and Tracey Bunda. Leading Toward Normalcy and Wellbeing in a Time of Extreme Stress and Crises, Bradley W. Carpenter and Amy Poerschke. SECTION IV: YOUR APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIP. How to Find Your Focus: Deciding What Matters for Your School Community, Fiona Longmuir and Amanda Heffernan. How to Not Be Seduced By Common Sense, Scott Eacott. Why You Should Reject Entrepreneurial Leadership, Steven J. Courtney. All Out All Change: How to Implement New Curriculum in Your School, Christine Grice. What School Leaders Need to Know About Education Policy: A Critical Perspective and a Toolkit for Enactment, Matthew P. Sinclair and Jeffrey S. Brooks. Leading to Survive: How School Leaders Can Practice Work-Life Integration, Joanne M. Marshall and Roark Horn. SECTION V: HOLISTIC LEADERSHIP. The Importance of Trust When Leading in Times of Change, Megan Tschannen-Moran and Margaret E. Constantino. How to Manage Relationships With Difficult People, Sharon Radd. How to Cultivate Emotional and Social Competence in School Leadership: A Service-Learning Perspective, Dat Bao. Who’s Afraid of the Students’ Voice? About Teacher Evaluation and Considering Students’ Role in School Improvement, Ilana Finefter-Rosenbluh. About the Authors.